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Price Reduced - All reasonable offers will be considered!

This is the first Benny 7-string that Bob Benedetto ever made, custom built for jazz legend Jimmy Bruno, who owned it and played it on "Midnight Blue", "Live at Birdland", and others.

This Benny 7 prototype was hand built by Bob in his East Stroudsburg, PA shop in 1998. Many have described this era to have produced Bob's best instruments ever. The guitar features a 14" (lower bout) x 2" thick chambered mahogany body with a carved spruce top, mahogany neck, deluxe ebony tailpiece, bridge, and fretboard. Schaller tuners with ebony buttons. The pickup is a Benedetto B-7 humbucker. The width at the nut is 2-1/16", typical for Benedetto 7-strings. Scale length is 25".

Among the unique features of the guitar is the script mother of pearl "Jimmy Bruno" inlaid tailpiece and the very unique diagonal "Jazz Burst" finish, which makes it instantly recognizable as the instrument played by Jimmy Bruno during that time. The guitar shows some dings, and other normal wear evident of being played by Mr. Bruno, including a couple of filled screw holes which once mounted a synth pickup of some sort. Howard Paul, president and CEO of Benedetto Guitar Corporation, acquired the guitar from Jimmy and he saw to some minor finish repairs including some over spraying of the top lacquer, which I have had recently polished and buffed by a professional luthier. As a result, the guitar is a cleaned up version of a "player's guitar". There is no significant damage of any kind anywhere on the instrument. The original hardshell case (OHSC) is included and is in great condition, except that one of the 6 latches is broken.

The guitar recently received a pro setup and has a clean bill of health. It has a captivating live electric tone which dials down to a warm, smoky classic jazz tone by rolling off the volume pot. By design, this model has noticeably more sustain than a traditional hollow-body. The low strings sound wonderfully deep and full bodied. There are no fret issues of any sort and the neck is perfectly playable and fast. I presently have a set of Thomastik 13-58 plus an 81 for the low string. The guitar will accommodate lower action as well as lighter strings if desired. Includes hand-signed "One-Off Certificate" from Benedetto. I have several photos of Jimmy with the guitar, provided on request.

Here are a few words that Howard Paul wrote about it:
"Very cool guitar...one-of-a-kind Benny 7 built for JIMMY BRUNO by Bob Benedetto in 1999. It was the first Benny 7, and was used on Jimmy's duo album with Joe Beck and during one of the Live at Birdland Albums.... A real piece of jazz history, and authentic one-of-a-kind Benedetto, and a great player!!! (I know, because I used to own it!)."

I will ship within North America - contact me for an exact shipping quote since rates and services vary.

Thanks for looking!

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Listed4 years ago
ConditionVery Good (Used)
Very Good items may show a few slight marks or scratches but are fully functional and in overall great shape.Learn more
Brand
Model
  • Benny 7-String Custom Jimmy Bruno
Finish
  • Jazz Burst
Categories
Year
  • 1998
Made In
  • United States

Letting go of my gear :'(

Brentwood, CA, United States
Sales:7
Joined Reverb:2018

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